The nominees for December’s Liberty A-League and Isuzu UTE A-League Coach of the Month have been unveiled, and the A-Leagues want to hear from the fans.
Western United’s Mark Torcaso, Melbourne City boss Ante Juric, Jeff Hopkins of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City head coach Dario Vidosic are in the running for Coach of the Month honours in the Liberty A-League.
In the Isuzu UTE A-League, Brisbane Roar head coach Warren Moon, Central Coast Mariners’ Nick Montgomery, John Aloisi of Western United and Macarthur FC’s Dwight Yorke are the nominees.
This season, Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have partnered with Football Coaches Australia (FCA) to produce four monthly nominees for fans of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and Liberty A-League Women to pick from as Coach of the Month.
The four nominated coaches in each league for December were selected by the FCA panel, consisting of:
- Sarah West: Vice President, FCA
- Catherine Cannuli: Executive Committee Member, FCA
- Phil Moss: President, FCA
- Gary Cole: Executive Committee Member, FCA
Each member of the FCA panel votes for four coaches each month, granting four votes to their pick for Coach of the Month, three for their second-choice, two for their third and one for their fourth choice.
The fan vote will decide the Coach of the Month, and will then be a factor of the APL’s end-of-season process to determine Coach of the Year.
Torcaso headlines the Liberty A-League nominees amid Western United’s breathtaking start to life in the competition.
Newcomers Western have won their five matches to start the season, with Torcaso’s side emerging victorious in all three of their December fixtures, including a stunning triumph at high-flying Melbourne City and a dramatic last-gasp comeback away to Adelaide United.
City remain top of the table on goal difference under Vidosic, whose team were almost flawless in the month of December – the Melbourne outfit won four of their five fixtures, scoring 14 goals.
Juric and reigning premiers Sydney FC are among the contenders once again, having blitzed the competition last month – the Sky Blues were four from four and scored 11 goals, while conceding just once.
Hopkins‘ Victory have overcome a slow start to their title defence to be back inside the top four thanks to four straight wins in December.
Over in the Isuzu UTE A-League, Moon and Brisbane Roar continue to go under the radar with just one defeat this season and the club were unbeaten in December – they have the joint-best defence in the competition (seven goals conceded).
Third-placed Central Coast Mariners have dazzled this term, providing plenty of entertainment under Montgomery, who oversaw a New Year’s Eve win over Melbourne Victory, F3 Derby success against Newcastle Jets and a big win against rivals Sydney FC in December.
Yorke‘s Macarthur catapulted themselves up the ladder in December, with a pair of important wins over Perth Glory and Sydney FC, and back-to-back clean sheets.
Defending champions Western United used a strong December to kick-start their season – Aloisi & Co. ending the month with the scalps of Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory before drawing at home to Brisbane Roar.
